Conveying arrangement

ABSTRACT

A carriage is movable on rails at opposite lateral sides of which objects are to be deposited or picked up. A turnable shaft is provided on the carriage and connected with a parallelmovement linkage, including a toggle joint, to a free end of which there is connected a gripper for engaging objects to be conveyed. A cylinder and piston unit is connected with the pivot of the toggle joint, so that when the unit is operated, the latter collapses and the gripper engages from below an object to be lifted, whereupon turning of the shaft causes the parallel movement to perform an arcuate movement so that the object is moved from one side of the rails to the other for deposition thereat.

United States Patent 1191 Schnell 14 1 Feb. 5, 1974 1 CONVEYINGARRANGEMENT [75] Inventor: Gerhard Schnell, Stuttgart,

Germany [73] Assignee: Robert Bosch G.m.b.H., Stuttgart,

Germany [22] Filed: May 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 139,611

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 24, 1970 Germany P 20 31170.0

[52] US. Cl. 214/1 BD, 104/93, 104/247, 105/148, 214/769, 214/DIG 1O[51] Int. Cl. B65g 47/90 [58] Field of Search 214/1 BD, 1 BV, 769, 77,130, 214/131, 140, 768, DIG. l0

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,948,417 8/1960 liaanesnn214/1 BD 2,976,595 3/1961 Cook et 'al 214/1 BD X 3,232,446 2/1966 Spurret al.. 214/1 BD 3,074,572 1/1963 Ulinski 214/770 3,561,614 2/1971Tezuka 214/1 BD 3,061,118 10/1962 Halberstadt 2l4/DIG. 10

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 950,757 2/1964 Great Britain 214/1 BDPrimary Examiner-Robert J. Spar Attorney, Agent, or FirmMichael S.Striker [57] ABSTRACT A carriage is movable on rails at opposite lateralsides of which objects are to be deposited or picked up. A tumable shaftis provided on the carriage and connected with a parallel-movementlinkage, including a toggle joint, to a free end of which there isconnected a gripper for engaging objects to be conveyed. A cylinderandpiston unit is connected with the pivot of the toggle joint, so thatwhen the unit is operated, the

latter collapses and the gripper engages from below an object to belifted, whereupon turning of the shaft causes the parallel movement toperform an arcuate movement so that the object is moved from one side ofthe rails to the other for deposition thereat.

8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 1 CONVEYING ARRANGEMENT BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The present invention relates generally to conveyingarrangements, and more particularly to arrangements for conveying ofobjects which are to be moved from one location to another.

Conveying arrangements of all types are already well known in a greatvariety of constructions. The present been brought for pick-up toanother location where they are deposited to besubsequently picked up byvehicles, such as forklifts. In particular it is known to have in manyindustrial installations vehicles which are provided for this purposeand which travel in a predetermined path defined for them for instanceby a guide wire or the like, so that they cannotdeviate from this' path.Thus, these vehicles cannot approach the first location adjacent theracks or shelves, and it is therefore necessary to transport the objectsfrom this first location to a second location'adjacent thefixed pathtraversed by the vehicles, so that the latter are capable of picking theobjects up. It follows that in these or analogous circumstances it isessential that the object, hereafter identified for the sake ofconvenience as pallets, be capable of being deposited at preciselypredetermined positions, and conversely that it be possible to pick upthe objects at precisely predetermined positions. Furthermore, rapid andsafe pick-up and delivery of the pallets requires that the deviceprovided for this purpose which engages the pallets not be permitted tocarry out uncontrolled or uncontrollble swinging movements as is forinstance the case if cranes were to be used for this type of work.

No such construction capable of fulfilling these requirements isknownfrom the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the presentinvention I to overcome the aforementioned problems and to pro spondingmovement in response to turning of the same. A load-engaging element isconnected with the linkage and mounted for at least partial pivotingbeneath a load 7 to be engaged, and for lifting displacement of suchlo'ad froma first to an at least laterally spaced second position inresponse to turning of the shaft.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however,

both as to its construction and its method of operation, together withadditional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood fromthe following description of specific embodiments when read inconnection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic frontview of a conveying arrangement embodying the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a side view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS I Discussing now the drawing indetail, it will be seen that reference numeral 10 identifies rails whichmay be positioned and mounted in suitable manner, for instance by beingsuspended from the ceiling of a storage room. Mounted-on anddisplaceable longitudinally of As FIG. 1 shows most clearly a shaft 16is mounted at the lower end of the carrier 13, where it is journalledfor rotation. -'A linkage is connected with the shaft 16 and comprisestwo pair of levers 17, 17 which are shiftable-in parallelism, and twopair of arms 18, 18.

in its operation and capable of picking up objects at preciselypredetermined points and depositing them, again at preciselypredetermined points.

In pursuance of the above objects, and others which will become apparenthereafter, one feature of the in- FIG. 1 shows and FIG. 2 shows moreclearly that an engaging element such as a gripper 19 is rigidlyconnected to one of the lever pairs 17'. A toggle joint 20 comprises inusual manner two sections pivoted at 21, one of the sections beingattached at its free end to one of the levers 17 of the other pair. Apiston rod 22 of a piston of the cylinder and piston unit 23 -;which ispreferably hydraulically actuatable is connected to the pivot 21 whereasthe cylinder is connected with the frameportion 14. Operation of thepiston collapses the toggle joint 20 whereby the gripper 19 is lowered,whereas, if the piston is operated in a sense erecting the bell-cranklever 20, the gripper 19 is lifted.

Of course, the gripper 19 must also bemoved in such a manner as todisplace an object or pallet which it engages from one position toanother, for. instance from the position A to a second position B(compare FIG. 2). This is effected by turning the shaft 16 throughapproximately with a resulting positional change of theparallel-displaceable linkage l7, 17, 18 and 18'. Pivots 24 and 25connecting the arm pairs 18 with the lever pairs 17 move in arcuatepaths 26 and 27 which are illustrated for orientation in broken lines inFIG. 2. In other words, these paths 26 and 27 are traversed by thepivots 24 and 25 when the shaft 16 is turned through approximately180'as clearly evident in FIG.

The turning of the shaft 16 is effected in the illustrated embodiment bymeans of a first gear 28 which is coaxial with the shaft 16 and rigidtherewith. A second gear 30 is provided, and a drive chain 29 is inmotion-transmitting engagement with gears 28 and 30, with the latterbeing connected at one of its end faces adjacent its periphery with apiston rod of a piston assembly 31 of a preferably hydraulicallyoperated cylinder and piston unit 32 which is fast with the carrier 13.It is clear that operation of the piston assembly 31 causes the gear 30to turn, whereby motion is transmitted to gear 28 via the chain 29, andthe shaft 16 turned about its axis.

The operation of the illustrated embodiment will already be clear fromwhat has been set forth above. Assuming, for instance, that a pallet 33is to be picked up at the location A, the carriage 12 is moved on therails until the gripper 19 is adjacent the pallet 33. While the cylinderand piston unit 23 is so operated that the toggle joint is erected whichcauses the linkage 17, 17, 18 and 18' to move approximately and thegripper 19 to the broken-line position identified with referencecharacter C. Renewed operation of the cylinder and piston unit 23 in asense opposite to that employed previously causes the toggle joint 20 tobecome collapsed, whereby the gripper 19 is pivoted underneath thepallet 33. It is now in position to pick up the pallet.

In the next operating step the cylinder and piston unit 32 is actuatedto thereby turn the gear 30 and transmit via the gear 28 a rotarycomponent of movement to the shaft 16, turning the same throughapproximately 180. In so doing, the gripper l9'picks up the pallet 33 atthe position A and moves it to the position B where it deposits it inthe location identified with broken lines. Now the cylinder and piston23 is again operated in a sense erecting the toggle joint 20 so that thegripper 19 can be pivoted out from beneath the pallet 33 and thearrangement freed for further use.

It is hardly necessary to emphasize when the pallet or other load hasbeen picked up at the location A, the carriage 12 may be advanced alongthe rails 10 in direction normal to the movement performed by thegripper 19, before the pallet is deposited again'. In other words, thepallet or other load may-be picked at a location A at one lateral sideof the rails 10, whereupon the carriage maybe advanced along'the rails,and the gripper then may perform its above-discussed movement so thatthe pallet is deposited ata location B at the opposite lateral side ofthe rails but which is spaced from the location A longitudinally of therails 10, rather than being directly opposite the location A. It alsogoes without saying that it is similarly possible to pick up a load atthe location B and to transport it to the location A.

Naturally, fluid sources must be provided for the cylinder and pistonunits, and a motive source must be provided for the carrige, but none ofthese features form a part of the present invention and are thereforenot illustrated or discussed. Their provision is fully within the scopeof those having skill in the art.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions, differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in aconveying arrangement, it is not intended to be limited to the detailsshown, since various modifications and structural changes may be madewithout departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims,

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. In a conveying arrangement, a combination comprising a turnableshaft; at least one parallel-movement linkage comprising a first leverhaving an end portion pivoted about said shaft and a free end portionspaced from said pivoted end portion, a first arm pivoted on said freeend portion of said first lever and having a free end, a second armrigidly attached to said shaft so as to be turnable therewith and havinga free end, and a second lever interconnecting said free ends of saidarms in such a manner that said arms extend parallel to each other andsaid second lever extends parallel to said first lever; a toggle jointhaving two lever sections having respective free ends and respectivepivotally connected ends, one of said free ends being connected withsaid free end portion of said first lever and the other of said freeends being connected with a stationary support; a cylinder-and-pistonassembly fixedly mounted on said stationary support and having a pistonrod connected with said connected ends of said lever sections forerecting and collapsing said toggle joint; and a loadengaging elementhaving an engaging portion and rigidly connected to said second lever soas to be displaceable therewith for displacement of said engagingportion beneath a load to be engaged in response to the displacement ofsaid toggle joint and for lifting displacement of such load, togetherwith said engaging portion, from a first to an at least laterally spacedsecond position in response to turning of said shaft.

2. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1; and mounting meansturnably mounting said element on said linkage.

3. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said shaft isturnable through substantially 4. A conveying arrangement as defined inclaim 1, further comprising a gear drive having a first gear rigidlyattached to said turnable shaft, and a second gear operativelyassociated with said first gear; and a cylinder-and-piston unitpivotably attached to said stationary support and having a piston rodpivotally connected to said second gear for effecting displacement ofthe same.

5. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 4, said gear drivefurther comprising a drive chain engaging with said first and secondgears in motiontransmitting relationship.

6. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, further comprising apivot connecting said free end of said second arm with said second leverfor pivotal displacement of the latter in' relation to the former inresponse to a displacement of said cylinder-and-piston assemblytransmitted to said second lever by said toggle joint, said first leverand said first arm, and for a corresponding displacement of saidload-engaging element about a pivot axis defined by said pivot.

3,790,001 6 7. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 6, agesimilar to and interconnected with said one paralwherein said axis is atleast substantially horizontal. lel-movement linkage so as to move inconcert with the 8. A conveyor arrangement-as defined in claim 1,fursame. ther comprising an additional parallel-movement link-

1. In a conveying arrangement, a combination comprising a turnableshaft; at least one parallel-movement linkage comprising a first leverhaving an end portion pivoted about said shaft and a free end portionspaced from said pivoted end portion, a first arm pivoted on said freeend portion of said first lever and having a free end, a second armrigidly attached to said shaft so as to be turnable therewith and havinga free end, and a second lever interconnecting said free ends of saidarms in such a manner that said arms extend parallel to each other andsaid second lever extends parallel to said first lever; a toggle jointhaving two lever sections having respective free ends and respectivepivotally connected ends, one of said free ends being connected withsaid free end portion of said first lever and the other of said freeends being connected with a stationary support; a cylinder-and-pistonassembly fixedly mounted on said stationary support and having a pistonrod connected with said connected ends of said lever sections forerecting and collapsing said toggle joint; and a load-engaging elementhaving an engaging portion and rigidly connected to said second lever soas to be dis-placeable therewith for displacement of said engagingportion beneath a load to be engaged in response to the displacement ofsaid toggle joint and for lifting displacement of such load, togetherwith said engaging portion, from a first to an at least laterally spacedsecond position in response to turning of said shaft.
 2. A conveyingarrangement as defined in claim 1; and mounting means turnably mountingsaid element on said linkage.
 3. A conveying arrangement as defined inclaim 1, wherein said shaft is turnable through substantially 180*.
 4. Aconveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, further comprising a geardrive having a first gear rigidly attached to said turnable shaft, and asecond gear operatively associated with said first gear; and acylinder-and-piston unit pivotably attached to said stationary supportand having a piston rod pivotally connected to said second gear foreffecting displacement of the same.
 5. A conveying arrangement asdefined in claim 4, said gear drive further comprising a drive chainengaging with said first and second gears in motion-transmittingrelationship.
 6. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, furthercomprising a pivot connecting said free end of said second arm with saidsecond lever for pivotal displacement of the latter in relation to theformer in response to a displacement of said cylinder-and-pistonassembly transmitted to said second lever by said toggle joint, saidfirst lever and said first arm, and for a corresponding displacement ofsaid load-engaging element about a pivot axis defined by said pivot. 7.A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 6, wherein said axis is atleast substantially horizontal.
 8. A conveyor arrangement as defined inclaim 1, further comprising an additional parallel-movement linkagesimilar to and interconnected with said one parallel-movement linkage soas to move in concert with the same.